What if a state legislature decided it wanted to return some of the taxpayers’ hard-earned money?
Hey, it could happen! What could the legislature do?
Tax Freedom Day? Cutting the sales or income tax? A property tax cut?
And where might legislators find some savings?
How about passing school choice legislation.
According to the Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation’s recent study “Education by the Numbers: The Fiscal Effect of School Choice Programs, 1990-2006,” of the 12 school choice programs for which there are data, states have saved $444 million since 1990.
Since most school spending is at the local level, so is most of the savings: $22.3 million for the states and $421.5 million for local districts.
Why is money being saved? According to the report, “Because voucher and scholarship amounts are typically well below state formula funding per student in the public schools system, state budgets have saved a total of $22 million. In addition, the migration of students from public schools to private schools has allowed districts to reduce their instructional spending levels, spreading their local and federal revenues over fewer students.”
Now, a critic might counter that that’s not much money.
True enough, but then only a small number of public school kids have the option. Make school choice available in every state and to every kid and the savings would begin to rise dramatically.
Of course, not every child would exercise a school-choice option; in fact, most probably wouldn’t. Many of the public schools do a good job educating children, but many don’t.
Competition doesn’t necessarily improve the best vendors; they may already be doing an excellent job. What competition does is identify the worst vendors because consumers are fleeing them. And that identification may force those in charge of the poor performers to do something.
We know competition provides higher-quality goods and services and lower prices in every other sector of the economy; thanks to the Friedman study, we know that school choice is doing the same.